How to Remove Background from a Photo on iPhone

In the latest iterations of the iOS operating system, Apple has introduced one of the most significant innovations on iPhone in recent years: the ability for users to remove the background from a photo on iPhone without using third-party apps.

The photo removal function on iPhone is perfectly integrated into the operating system, which means that in addition to the Photos app, it is also available in Safari, Messages, Mail, Files and, more generally, wherever there is an image.

Remove Background From a Photo on iPhone

To remove the background from a photo on iPhone in the image gallery, open the Photos app , select the desired image , then press and hold on the subject of the photo. After a couple of seconds, a white line will appear around the edges of the subject.

From here on you have several solutions:

Let’s now look in more detail at how each of the options listed above work.

1. Move the selected subject to another app

The subject selected from the photo in Photos can be moved to another app by dragging it with a finger . However, to make the operation easier, we recommend that you open the app where you intend to move the subject before performing the background removal.

For example, let’s say you want to move the cut-out subject in a note . First, open the Notes app . Now go back to the photo where you want to remove the background, press and hold on the subject until the white line appears on its sides, and start dragging it out.

While still holding your finger on the subject, use another finger (we found it natural to use our thumb) to swipe up from the bottom to view recently opened apps , then select the Notes app , tap on an empty note , then drag the subject here and release it.

As if by magic, after a few moments the subject selected from the photo is now in a new note in the Notes app without a background.

2. Copy the subject and paste it into another app

If you’re not very handy or familiar with iPhone gestures (it can happen, especially if you’re holding your first iPhone), you can repeat the same operation using the classic copy and paste .

As a practical example, we will use the Notes app once again. All you have to do is open the desired photo , press and hold on the subject for a couple of seconds and select the “Copy” option . Now go to Notes, open a new note , press and hold on an empty space for a few seconds, then tap on the “Paste” option .

A few moments later the subject will be regularly pasted into the new note.

3. Search for information on the selected subject

Among the options made available with this new feature is also Search Info , which allows you to find detailed information on the selected subject. A bit like what happens with Apple’s Visual Search function .

For our test, for example, we chose a cat. Let’s say we are not great experts on felines and we want to know what breed our cat belongs to. To obtain this information, simply hold down on the subject of the photo and select the “Search info” item .

After a few seconds, a small screen will open at the bottom with the information that Siri was able to obtain, plus a series of photos taken from similar images available on the web . In our case, for example, we discovered that the cat in question was an American Bombay.

4. Turn the subject into a sticker

Another option for removing the background from a photo on iPhone is to transform the subject into a sticker, thanks to the Add Sticker option .

Here’s how to proceed: press for a couple of seconds on the subject you want to use as a new sticker, then select the > arrow and tap on “Add sticker” .

That’s all: the subject cut out from the photo will be automatically added to the Stickers section where you can use it as a sticker in the future.

If you want, you can also add an effect , choosing from the following options: Original, Border, Comic, Emboss, Bright.

If you later change your mind, you can always delete the new sticker simply by tapping “Delete” .

5. Share the subject with your contact

The last option available is to share the selected subject with a contact of yours via instant messaging apps , such as WhatsApp and Telegram, or via email.

Even in this case, the simplicity of the operation makes it accessible to everyone: hold down on the subject from which you want to remove the photo background, then press on the > arrow and choose the “Share” option .

At this point, select one of your recent contacts or the app with which you want to share the outlined subject.

Conclusion

And that’s it, our guide on how to remove the background from a photo on iPhone ends here. We hope we’ve given you a hand on one of the most requested changes in photography.